I still think its a bad idea to hire foreigners into the military and place them in a legion comprised of entirely foreigners. I like the idea of earned citizenship, but when they arrive, they have zero loyalty to France. That has to be developed over time, which is assuming they are successful at developing that loyalty. If they are not successful, then you've got a group that is "loyal to the legion first, and France second." You don't see the danger here? Making the officers French nationals is a smart idea, and a necessary one. Doing otherwise would seem like suicide, just like having it operate outside the Army like the doc said it used to before the coup attempt.

Before that doc I've heard (from former military folks) the FL are little more than mercenaries. After watching it, I feel more strongly about that fact.

The French military have historically been well aware of the fact that the national composition of the FL might be a problem, so as a result, discipline in the Legion is BRUTAL. Far more brutal than in other French units. Helps keep the apes in line, and from what I hear, they don't have bad problems with subordination in the FL.

I have been told that there are a fair number of Africans joining lately, because it's a way to get French citizenship after completing your tour of duty. Might be an attractive option for impoverished Africans instead of floating over the strait of Gibraltar in a rubber float.

I still think its a bad idea to hire foreigners into the military and place them in a legion comprised of entirely foreigners. I like the idea of earned citizenship, but when they arrive, they have zero loyalty to France. That has to be developed over time, which is assuming they are successful at developing that loyalty. If they are not successful, then you've got a group that is "loyal to the legion first, and France second." You don't see the danger here? Making the officers French nationals is a smart idea, and a necessary one. Doing otherwise would seem like suicide, just like having it operate outside the Army like the doc said it used to before the coup attempt.

Before that doc I've heard (from former military folks) the FL are little more than mercenaries. After watching it, I feel more strongly about that fact.

Another way of viewing it is that the Legion instills a notion that nationality has to be earned rather than just handed out. And your concerns could be applied to any military across the world, let alone the FL. Indeed, apart from the Algerian fiasco, the FL has been steadfastly loyal, which is more than can be said for the various military officers who formed their own dictatorships once they overthrew their leaders.

I saw some programme about the French Foreign Legion last year. I think it said on that nowadays they often don't allow people with criminal records to join the legion. It also said something about having to hand any driving licenses and passports you might have so you can't get very far if you go AWOL.
I remember on this programme it mentioned something about when the legion went on this assault course in a south american jungle somewhere. It said that the legion took around 45 minutes to complete it, and it took the other group, I think from the US army, around 6 hours.

You are apparently referring to Legion's celebration of the battle of Camaron, where 50 legionaires held off about 1500 Mexican troops attacking a supply train en route to a French army besieging a key Mexican city.

Although outnumbered on a 1 to 30 basis, the Legionaires never surrendered, but kept shooting until they ran out of ammunition, at which point they charged the Mexican army with bayonets. They were understandably slaughtered, but they impressed the Mexican commander so much that he allowed the 3 survivors to leave alive with their flag.
Because of their sacrifice, the supply train reached the troops and the city fell to the French army soon after.

I think you'd be hard pressed to think of any great military VICTORIES that were halfway as badass as this particular defeat. The closest one I can think of would be the battle at Rourke's Drift, where 150 British colonial troops routed 5000 zulus, and the zulus weren't anywhere near as well-trained or equipped as the Mexican army.

The defeat is not what the FL celebrates. It's the bravery and sacrifice of the soldiers making their last stand.

I wonder how US laws affect US citizens joining the legion. One of the first things I learned when I got my citizenship was that US citizens were not allowed to participate in foreign armies. If I'm not mistaken, one could even lose his US citizenship, even if you were a US-born one (the other reason being treason.)

Anyways, this is interesting... specially about the Mongolian dude joining in. More interesting still to see how the diversity of nationalities actually help create a more cohesive force.

They look down on it a lot. They can possibly revoke your citizenship for it, though France will give you one after your term of service. I read up a lot on them after reading about some of their battles, you've gotta have some brass balls to be in the FFL.

The French military have historically been well aware of the fact that the national composition of the FL might be a problem, so as a result, discipline in the Legion is BRUTAL. Far more brutal than in other French units. Helps keep the apes in line, and from what I hear, they don't have bad problems with subordination in the FL.

It's one of the strictest military organizations out there so they definitely have their fair share of disciplinary violence. You can easily be tossed in a jail cell for a while for just one misconduct, and "pain over paperwork" is their philosophy for having you learn from a mistake.